Fishing boats and vessels are often equipped with a trolling motor for providing a relatively small amount of thrust to slowly and quietly propel the boat or vessel while the operator is fishing. Most outboard trolling motors are typically powered by a battery and are mounted to either the bow or the stem of the boat or vessel. Bow mounted trolling motors are generally mounted to the deck at the bow of a boat by means of a base plate screwed or otherwise fastened to the bow of the boat and a chassis, also known as a frame or bracket, coupled to the trolling motor and configured to mate with the base plate.
Such trolling motors may be configured to pivot between a deployed or use position and a stowed or non-use position. However, such known mounting arrangements for trolling motors may present inconvenient or disadvantageous features in application or use, such as relative difficulty to use (e.g., effort and vigilance to stow or deploy). Also, such known arrangements may present inconvenient or undesirable operation such as high impact or velocity deployment of the trolling motor if it is dropped onto the water, which may cause a potential for an unpleasant or startling noise, or for damage to the trolling motor or watercraft.
As can be appreciated, trolling motors include several movable parts that may be susceptible to failure if the trolling motor is dropped, bumped or otherwise knocked around. Damage to a trolling motor is commonly inflicted while an operator is attempting to move the trolling motor from a stowed position to a deployed position. Often this movement is rather abrupt since the weight of the trolling motor increases the acceleration of the trolling motor into the water. Such an abrupt movement may cause unnecessary damage or wear to the trolling motor as the trolling motor impacts the water and/or any other object.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a trolling motor mounting system that has a compact design and can be readily mounted to a boat or vessel. It would also be advantageous to provide a trolling motor mount system with a mechanism for moving the trolling motor between the deployed position and the stowed position that is more convenient to use. If would further be advantageous to provide a trolling motor mount system that is configured to control the velocity that the trolling motor can be raised and/or lowered. It would further be advantageous to provide a trolling motor mount system that is configured to assist in moving the trolling motor between the deployed and use positions. It would further be advantageous to provide a trolling motor system that is configured to be more convenient to clean, keep clean, and maintain. It would be desirable to provide for a trolling motor system having one or more of these or other advantageous features.